Chronicles of the Red Sovereign

Apollo and Artemis reappeared on top of the clock tower in the center of Azte, the highest building within the capital city, apart from the imperial palace towers. Artemis watched the sleeping city with the eyes of a hunter, her thoughts were on the meeting of the future hero of Afasia. Apollo on the other hand couldn’t help but feel like the mortal Luna Hysi seemed familiar.

“Hey sis, don’t you think Luna Hysi feels familiar?” Apollo asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, the way she spoke to us, the way she looked at us and even how it felt to be around her. It feels really familiar. It feels like I was talking to… Nyxtriel.”

“There had been no news that Nyxtriel is in the mortal realm.”

“Nyxtriel is missing Arty, there will be no news about her. Who knows, maybe she’s hanging around here like her sister.”

Artemis suddenly hit her younger twin brother on the head which made the latter yelp.

“First, don’t ever call me with that name. And second, no one’s supposed to know ‘she’s’ in the mortal realm.” Artemis sighed in disbelief at her brother’s carelessness. “We should go now. Hera, Odin and Xiwangmu will give us an earful if we return any later.”

“Fine.”

The two vanished from Azte City without anyone noticing they were even there.

All but one.

Nothing could get past her. After all she’s the strongest mage in the Central Continent, maybe even the entire world.

“So they have already made their move. I should make mine soon then.”

***

I wrapped a towel over my body and stepped out of the bath. I made my way towards the mirror inside the bathroom and inspected my face; I was starting to gain some color. It made me feel a lot better since Aunt Zaira commented on how pale I was the day before.

My eyes drifted to the ring stuck on my finger. I tried to pull it while in the bath but it proved to be futile and it just remained there like it was stuck with a super adhesive. I just gave up on it. Artemis did say that I would need their help in the future and the ring was sort of like my connection to them. I decided to just let it remain on my finger.

My mind drifted to the previous night’s event. Two foreign gods just visited me and sort of… warned me? And maybe even promised me they’d have my back. In anyone’s opinion, such a happening sounded absurd in many ways. But it did happen, so it meant…

-I’ll be part of some deep sh- I mean big trouble in the future.

All of a sudden, without even noticing it, the door to the bathroom opened and I locked gazes with a certain white-haired prince. I froze on the spot and my hand gripped the towel that was the only thing concealing my body. I saw Kai’s jaw hang open and he blinked many times.

-How did he – How was he able to get close without me noticing it?

Being aware of my surroundings was like second nature to me. It was something I learned while living in the monster-infested Celestine Territory. So Kai barging in without my notice was really shocking.

“I’m sorry!” he yelled and closed the door.

The moment the door was slammed close, I let out a breath I did not even know I was holding. My mind was still trying to get around the fact that a guy just saw me wearing nothing but a towel, not to mention the mark on my chest, shoulder and upper back that I had managed to keep hidden to everyone else was seen on display.

I would be lying if I did not feel like banging my head on the wall at that moment. Now as much as I wanted to just wallow on embarrassment, I realized my clothes were outside the bathroom and Kai was still on the other side of the door.

-Aaassshhh… Damn it.

I just swallowed my pride and knocked on the door. “Uhm… Kai?”

“..U… Ah? I-I-I mean, yeah?”

“Can you get my clothes for me? They should be in the bed.”

I waited for about a minute before a knock sounded on the other side. I opened the door slightly and put my hand. Once I had my clothes on my hand, I immediately put them on, dried my hair using the skill [Blower] and exited the bathroom.

Ah, [Blower] is a skill Aunt Zaira taught me. It was a combination of manipulating two elements; wind and fire, to create a warm enough air/wind to dry things easily.

Once I was outside, I could still feel my face heat up, but it my ears were a lot worse. They were probably very red and I was trying my best to conceal them with my hair. I also couldn’t seem to look at Kai directly. I later learned he was doing his best to avoid looking at my face either.

“So… am I the only one who’s not there yet?” I asked to change the awkward atmosphere swarming us.

“Hmm? Uh… yeah. They’re all already on the rooftop.”

We exited the room and headed to the infirmary building’s rooftop.

Earlier that morning, I found a letter at my bedside table. How I stayed deep asleep when Kai snuck inside my room to deliver it, was still beyond me.

-But then again, I did not notice him coming a while ago.

In the letter, it was stated that my circle of friends would be meeting on the rooftop of the infirmary building to discuss everything that just happened. I was actually glad when I received the letter. It meant I did not have to go through the trouble of talking to everyone just to get us all together. On the downside, they would probably be needing answers for everything that just happened.

And a lot did happen.

Once we arrived on the rooftop, I immediately paused and awkwardly waved a hand on my friends. They all returned it, which I was glad of, but one thing, or rather person, did catch my attention.

“Freya?” I called.

Yes. Freya von Borealis was sitting with my friends. She looked annoyed, with an expression that clearly said; she’d rather train than be there at that moment. I was also sure that it was Freya and not the others. I had learned to differentiate them after all.

As much as I wanted an answer to that unasked question, there were much more important matters to discuss among us.

I took a seat on one of the empty seats and got comfortable. I felt Kai sit next to me but I still did not feel like facing him. Unfortunately though, the others sensed the awkwardness between us.

“Did something happen when Kai came to get you?” Peter asked skeptically and started bothering his cousin who kept denying it with a red face.

“Maybe Kai arrived at the wrong timing and barged inside the bathroom while Luna was in the middle of changing!” Bernard said in a joking manner. He just did not realize how close he was to the truth.

With Bernard’s statement, I felt myself freeze. Meanwhile I could hear Kai hiccup.

“Eh? No way… right?”

I really felt like finding a hole and just hide there.